Curiosity Didn't Kill the Cat Yet.

[Priceless]

The woods were dark, just the way he liked it. Thick and filled with vegetation, not a soul around to arouse his curiosity or his interest. There was a stench that surrounded the buckskin stallion. It was an old smell, but it was rancid enough to curl the nostrils of any animal that entered his vicinity. It was like the smell of a rotting corpse, which was odd because the stallion was very much alive. If one looked closer, they could see the way his fur seemed to be in clumps, not because of the coming winter, because of dried blood.

Tracheotomy shook out his fur with vehemence; it felt heavy and ichy because he hadn't taken a bath in months, maybe even a year, if he remembered correctly. The last time he had cleaned himself up was when he last saw a horse, and the last horse he was was an old stall who had been treating his daughter cruelly. He had killed the stallion....and the daughter, and hadn't stepped in water or gone near it except to drink since. He looked awful, he could tell, but at least nobody was around to see his rather destroyed state.

He keep to the shadows as he moved through the forest, slow like a cat with light footsteps. He could hear a little bit of running water, with would serve to quench his thirst and sooth his dry throat. When he found the small creek, it was just large enough for him to place two hooves in as he took his fill, keeping his ears high and alert in case anyone should approach him. No telling what he might do if a horse unknowingly decided to try and talk to him.

[Dusty's Girl]

Midnight and Athena walked ahead of the twins. Even though Athena was younger than the twins, she knew more of how to deal with Midnight than the other two. As she watched Midnight walk ahead of them, she could see his head turning with each sound that was made. She knew that they were more than likely in danger, but Midnight was a good stallion and would keep them safe.

Midnight sighed as he motioned for Athena to keep the twins back and he soon stepped farther from them. He could smell something and he headed towards the scent, for he knew that if he confronted what was there, Athena and the twins could get away without them getting hurt. Lifting his head, he let out a nicker to who ever was out there.He thought he had caught the scent of a stallion, he was not sure. Lowering his head, he walked farther ahead towards the sound of water.

SunDance and Cherokee were grazing and playing tricks on one another as they stayed behind the invisible line that Athena had drawn for them. It was a rule that when Midnight was away, Athena,even though she was younger than them was in control. Looking the way that Midnight had went, they shook their head and sighed, before turning and playfully nipping at each other.

[Saz]

With swift easy steps the duo wove between the dark trees as they followed a deer path toward the only water source in the small forest. They had skulked in silence for the past hour before Dexter finally piped up, still seething from before by the river, "Why did you go and do that, Lu?" He asked quietly, restraining the rage that was bubbling beneath his words. The grey filly barely glanced his way before snorting dismissively. "Because, dear brother... She was a dumb-ass. What do you expect me to do, allow you to get her pregnant? I'm not having some stupid idiot being the mother to my first niece or nephew. After that you can do what you like..." She snorted sharply, narrowing her eyes at him, almost daring him to object before she flicked her tail and sped up into a trot.

She soon slowed once more as she hit a wall of strange, mixed smells, she halted, allowing Dexter to catch up, and whilst he was furious at his twin, he wouldn't ever let anything or anyone harm her. They both inhaled deeply, shared a vaguely confused look before Dexter over took his sister and followed the trail. They were both silent until they reached the clearing with the mysterious being but also housed the only source of water within the dark forest. Dexter snorted deeply as another unfamiliar nicker rang out but didn't belong to the being drinking in the stream. At a closer look, the stallion before them was in a disgusting state. Blood and other substances were matted into his coat, he stank of death and looked as though he had been through a hedge backwards. Though if he cleaned up, Dexter could see he was a good looking fellow... to some extent at least. Shaking his head, he glanced behind him but Lumen was no longer there. Panic rose in his throat and he glanced around wildly but froze when he saw her striding confidently toward the stranger.

He gritted his teeth in mild fury and started forward, jogging quickly to catch up to her. He reached her by the time she had halted beside the strange stallion, he halted beside her, wrinkling his nose at the foul odor that seemed to exude from the stallion. The two year old colt was growing quickly into a stallion that would have challenged his sire for the herd, he was muscular and thickly set, exuding power and dominance wherever he went. His sister was different in shape, and in color. She was an iron grey at this point, and slim too, her face dished elegantly but she was also muscular in her shoulders, back and hind quarters. In comparison, he was built like a brick on legs, rough around the edges and very hardheaded; whereas she was doe-like, slim and elegant.

Lumen flicked an ear back at her brother but said nothing as she stared, fathomless, at the bay stallion. "Hello there, I am Lumen, this is my brother, Dexter. Who might you be?" She asked sweetly, smiling gently at the stallion before cocking her head to the said as she awaited his answer. Dexter glanced over her shoulder and across the bay stallion at the black who was lingering in the trees. He nickered deeply to the other stallion, motioning to him with his muzzle for the other horse to join them, he was more than confident that he could easily protect his sister from whatever threat either of these two could produce.

[Priceless]

It hadn't been too long before he could sense another horses presence coming within his vicinity. Not too long after he decided that maybe, just maybe, he might finally have found a place devoid of other creatures. That he could finally keep himself away from others, keep himself safe from his urges.

However, any longing of being left to his own devices vanished as soon as he sensed another presence and heard the sound of hooves. He could feel the hair on his ridge rise, much like a dogs would, in excitement at the prospect of another horse. The thought of purging himself from his urges becoming as foreign as the ground he tread. There was one, no, four sets that he could hear trodding the earth. He lifted his head slowly and looked about, a faint wind blowing about the place. The wind carried away his own putrid smell, a smell he barely notices nowadays, and brought in the smell of what seemed to be a stallion and a mare. Maybe more them one. The thought made him a bit giddy. On the wind was when he noticed two more smells, coming in a different direction.

Soon he could see the braver of the two groups emerge from the shadowing confines. One was a sturdy-looking young stall, his presence and disposition reminding Trach of a particularly tough stallion he had the pleasure of breaking. The other, and seemingly the more braver -or stupider- of the two, was a delicate and petite-looking mare. It didn't take him long to size her up; there wasn't much to look at. In the past, he met refined and seductive mares, who were good at playing cautious, but that always made it fun. He felt that neither category fit the filly, but he didn't want to draw a short straw with her. He could tell he was in the presence of youngsters from both groups, even though the black-coated boy looked more like a rock then a horse.

All this he took in within moments. That was just the way his mind worked. Usually it didn't leave him time to make rational thoughts before the thirst started, but this time he caught himself before thinking of a plan to dispatch the little girl before taking on the brick. It was partially thanks to his thoughts from earlier, and partly because of the other horses still hidden within the foliage. Last thing he needed was a mob on him. Having so many horses around him was making his whole body tingle, or maybe that was just the itching. As the girl spoke, he guessed the two could be related, or future lovers, seeing as the big black brute followed behind the dainty lass, but he suspected the former to be more true. A smile spread across his face at the thought, and he took a step back to collect himself as the little lass introduced herself to him. It wasn't a smile that an insane horse would give, nor was it one of a pervert finding an easy way to satisfy his sick desires. It was a simple, gentle smile, his eyes showing delight but for different reasons then the two would probably suspect.

"Hello there, lass, lad. My name is....Trach." He said, his voice deep but with a slight hitch, as if his throat had something caught in it. He cut his name short, pretty sure the word Tracheotomy wasn't exactly a common name used among horses. Then again, he'd never heard of the name Lumen before.

He kept his body language on the gentle side, hoping that they wouldn't be off-put by his diminished appearance. He was a looker under the blood and mat, or so horses have told him. He kept in mind that there was still other horses in the woods, hidden from sight, but he kept his eyes trained on the two, still smiling.

"You'll have to forgive my....appearance. It's been a while since I've seen a river deep enough to wash in." His voice was softer now, but anyone would be a fool to not see the nervous gaze that was now entering his eyes, as the other horse, Dexter, gestured for whoever was hiding within the forest to come out. It wasn't that he was afraid of more horses. He wasn't quite sure what it was, but it was the feeling he got whenever a large group of horses gathered.

Longing... Is what he thought, and it seemed fitting.

[Dusty's Girl]

Midnight slowly walked into the area as he noticed another motioned for him to come out of hiding. Lowering his head slightly as he walked. It was just him being cautious, nothing threatening. Midnight had learned from the twins how to do a quick turn when he needed to get out of somewhere faster than a wide turn. As he looked around, he soon knew what was somewhat covering the stallion's scent. Old blood and by the way it smelled it was very old. Wrinkling his his nose, he stepped out farther and soon stood with his head held high and ears forward.
His black body was tense and soon he could hear a hoof beats. Turning his head, he soon caught sight of SunDance coming right at him. "SunDance." he said as she came next to him and laid her head against his side. Now he had her to worry about as well as himself.

Cherokee and SunDance had been watching Athena and soon the twins had gotten the Idea to take off and follow Midnight to see if he needed any help. As they were planning how to escape from Athena, they noticed she had turned to them with her ears back. Both Cherokee and SunDance had bolted, but it was only SunDance who had gotten past her.
Now Cherokee stood beside Athena. He hated that his twin had gotten past the younger mare but he knew that maybe it was for the best that he stayed with her. Pacing now, he kept his ears towards the woods and knew that if the first sound of trouble with or without Athena he was going to take off without a second thought about it.